This curse unbroken now shall beDown into eternityUnless you find the pathway throughAnd solve the riddle with this clueA rose’s cry at rock enchantedThe sun’s bright ray where none is slantedA magic key to a gift divineTrue love must merge when stars align

Dangerously Charming is the start of a new spin-off series from Deborah Blake, out of her previous Baba Yaga novels. Personally, I think you don’t need to read the Baba Yaga novels first because Blake gave enough information for new readers, but it will sure help give context as to why the series is titled “Broken Riders”.

On the fantasy/fairy-tale part, I thought this was definitely charming. There is a classic adventure quest to break a curse that had been cast centuries ago. Blake takes readers to visit the Otherworld, to revisit Barbara (one of the Baba Yagas), a road trip to enchanted rock, more information about Russian folklore, heck even having Mikhail involved in challenge of wits with a troll. I enjoyed that part very much. I also loved that I knew more about Mikhail and his Rider brothers this time.

It is the romance part that I wasn’t completely sold on. I thought it was rather lukewarm, and I definitely didn’t get the emotion. Which was too bad because with Mikhail having guilt after what happened with him and his brothers in the previous series, there was potential for hurt/comfort moments.

I also had issues with a couple of technical things. Deborah Blake used ‘two versions’ of referring Mikhail Day as character. When the perspective is heavily leaning on Mikhail, she uses “Day”. When it is from Jenna’s perspective, she writes it as “Mick”. That didn’t help me connect with the character. Just when I was familiarizing myself with Mick, I was ‘yanked’ out again and forced to know Mick as Day. It was distracting.

Blake also wrote a few short scenes using multiple POVs from other characters, like Barbara, Jenna’s ex, and the fairy who cast the curse. I strongly dislike multiple POVs in books with a romantic element. I want the POVs to focus only the hero/heroine. So I thought these scenes were unnecessary and disrupted the flow of the story.

Of course this could easily be my issue alone. Overall, it is a good spin-off and for those who have enjoyed Baba Yaga series, you will enjoy this one as well.